Online Help - September 2007
What is cranial osteopathy?
Cranial osteopathy is becoming more popular for treatment of a wide range of conditions. It involves palpation of a subtle rhythmical shape change, called the involuntary mechanism, which occurs throughout the body.
The whole body lengthens and narrows, then shortens and widens, in a gentle rhythm. The technique was developed by W.M. Sutherland, a pupil of A.T. Still - the Doctor who developed osteopathy in the 1860’s.
So it came out of original osteopathic principles based on anatomy and physiology. At first, even Sutherland was unsure of what it was he was feeling. Recent scientific studies have proved it is measurable but as yet we do not know exactly what causes the rhythm.
The skull, or cranium, is made up of 26 bones that are intricately joined together in adults by joints called sutures. These joints do not move in the same way that, say, the hip does; instead, there is a give-and-take motion that enables the involuntary motion of the brain, fluids and other tissues inside.
Impacts to or tension within the cranium can disrupt this motion, which can cause problems locally in the head and neck or more distally within the body.
What can cranial osteopathy be used to treat?Really the answer is anything that 'normal' structural osteopathy can, and more. Your osteopath will choose the technique that suits you, your body and your condition best, on the day.
Osteopathy is not proscriptive – there is no 'text-book' way to treat any particular condition, as osteopaths really do consider each patient as an individual case! (That is why we take such detailed case histories at the start).
A common presentation where cranial osteopathy might be used is following a car accident. During an RTA, the whole of the central nervous system is put under great strain. Most commonly people get whiplash symptoms in their neck or shoulders quite soon after the accident; this is partly due to soft-tissue strain in the neck.
But the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord, plus the fluid and other accessory tissues) can absorb quite a lot of the impact. Unless it is dissipated (either by 'shock' symptoms such as crying, feeling cold / sleepy and shaking or through treatment) the tissues retain that shock.
So you may not feel any symptoms for months after the accident – until a minor event, even as insignificant as tripping up a pavement, re-aggravates the system, and up pop the symptoms.
These may be: a general soreness in the back or neck, coccyx pain, headache, a 'muzzy' feeling in the head, general irritability and an inability to fully relax, or feeling tearful.
The emotional response is usually your body releasing the pent-up tension, and may occur during a treatment.
By palpating at certain 'listening posts' on the body – usually the back of the head, but sometimes the feet or the sacrum (the back of the pelvis), your osteopath can tell whether the rhythm is smooth and flowing, or whether there is a disturbance to it at some point in the body.
The osteopath will then treat the problem by listening to the body's own innate ability to heal itself and enabling that process. Thus, cranial is a very gentle technique.
However, it can be incredibly powerful and you may feel tired, or even develop flu-like symptoms afterwards – this is part of the process, and is nothing to worry about.
Rest and plenty of fluids are all that is needed.
Because the osteopath is enabling the patient's own healing to happen, rather than 'telling' the body what to do, cranial can be used safely and effectively for pregnant women, babies, the elderly (especially following falls) and patients with other medical conditions.
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